Thill-support



(No Modei.)

W. H. AVEY.

THILL sUPPoRT.

Patented Jan. 11

m m WO UNITED STATES 1WILIIIAIH Il.. AVEY, OF HEDGESVILLE, TEST VIRGINIA.

THILL-SUPPORT.

SPECIFICATION forming' part of Letters Patent No. 597,094, dated January 1 1, 1898.

(No model.)

To all waant t may concern:

Beit known thatl l, WILmAM H. Av ni', a citizen of the United States, residing at Hedgesville, in the county of Berkeley and State of West Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in. rPhill-Supports; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as Will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in thill-supports, the object of the same being to provide a device of this character that will effectually hold the tliills supported by the intervention of a coil-spring which is made from a single piece of Wire, the ends of which are extended to form the supports, While the coils are separated, leaving a cross-bar and intervening' space that provide for placing the said spring in proper engagement with the rigid projection extending from the axle, the invention also contemplating the particular construction of the part With which the spring engages and the part that engages the projecting arms or supports and embraces the thills.

W'ith the above ends in View the invention consists in a thill-support made up of a single piece of spring-Wire, formed to present two sets of coils with an intervening space and cross-bar, in connection with a rigid projection extending from the axle and adapted to engage the cross-bar and coils.

The invention further consists in the coinbination., with a coil-spring having its ends extended to form supports, of an open ring having a head adapted to engage the members of the spring and a cross-bar grooved in'its upper side7 together with a roller seated in the cross-bar.

.In the following speclication I have entered into a detailed description of the particular construction of my invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to numerals which designate the dilierent parts, and what I consider to be the novel features are specifically set forth in the claims.

In the drawings forming part of this speciticaton, Figure l is a View showing the application ot my invention. Fig. 2 is adetail View of the spring which forms the support. Fig. 3 is a detail View of the part or member that projects from the axle and engages the spring. Fig. 4. isa detail of the open ring which engages the outer ends of the spring members and embraces the thills. Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view through the crossbar of the ring or open frame.

Referring to the drawings by numerals', l designates an arm or standard which is connected to the axle in any suitable manner, so as to extend upward therefrom above the clip, which forms a part of the thill-coupling. The projecting part of this arm presents a downwardly-proj ectin g hook 2, and above the same it is provided with a head 3, formed by lateral projections, and upon the rear side of these projections are Vertical grooves l for the purpose hereinafter specified. This arm provides the means by which the thill-support is connected to the vehicle and the special construction thereof, in conjunction with the special construction of the support, secures a proper engagement of the parts The spring-support is made up of a single piece of Wire, 'which is coiled upon itself in such manner as to form two sets of coils 5 5, slightly separated and connected by the crossbar 6, the ends of the Wire being brought forward to provide the converging arms 7 7. By forming the coils of the spring-support in two sets and providing the cross-bar connecting the same the said springs can be placed in connection With the projecting member Without requiring it to be fastened thereto. In making this connection the spring-support is irst turned at an angle and passed in engagement with the member, so that the head will lie between the coils, after which the spring-support is turned and the cross-bar passed into engagement with the hook 2. This brings the adjoining parts of the tWo sets of coil in engagement with the vertical grooves in the back of the extensions forming the head 3 of the projecting member, and as the Weight of the thills will be upon the projecting arms of the spring-support they will hold the parts 'in positive engagement.

S designates the frame, which is carried by the outer ends of the projecting arms 7 7 and engages the thills. This frame is constructed to form a head 9, presenting downwardly- IOO projecting hooks at opposite sides thereof, said head being formed on a frame having a side piece l0 and lower cross-bar Il, terminating in an upwardly-projecting portion l2. By having but one side piece to the frame the opposite side is left open to provide for passing the said frame into engagement with the said thills and obviates thenecessit-y of sliding the frame alongthe thills from its outer end, as would be required if a ring or complete frame were employed. In order to reduce the friction between the frame and thills, the cross-bar ll is provided in its upper edge with a groove in whichis seated a roller l-S, the extension and lower part of the side piecelO being recessed to provide for inserting the roller and also prevents accidental displacement thereof.

It will be understood, of course, that the coils 5, which form a part of the thill-support, are located above the thill-coupling, so that the arms 77 project forwardly over the rear portion of the thills, and when the arms are forced down to bring the frame in engagement with the thills thetension of the spring will be exerted to lift the thills and will thereby take the weight of the saine off of the draft-animal. This support also acts to lift the thills to an upward inclination and thereby so support said thills that the horse may be driven under them in hitchin g. Vhen the vehicleis not in use, the improved thillsupport herein shown and described will hold the shafts normally elevated.

I-Iaving thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a thill-support, the combination of the spring bent or formed into two sets of coils with an intervening space and cross-bar, and a projecting member carried bythe axle having a hook and lateral extensions or head which engage the coils, the ends of the spring being extended forwardly and connected to the thills, substantially as shown and described.

2. In a thill-support, the combination of the spring formed into two sets of coils with an intervening space and cross-bar, and a member projecting upwardly from the axle having a lower downwardly-prejecting hook and the head at its upper end presenting lateral extensions with vertical grooves on their rear sides, the ends of the spring being extended forward and connected to the thills, substantially as shown and described.

3. In athill-support, the combination of the spring attached to the vehicle and presenting arms extending forwardly over the thills, and

an open frame engaging the forward ends of the arms and adapted to b e brought in engagement with the thills, said open frame comprising a head having hooks which engage the arms, a depending side and cross bar, the latter having a groove or recess in its upper edge, and a roller seated in said groove or recess, substantially as shown and for the purpose set forth.

1. A thill-snpport comprising a projecting member adapted to be secured to the axle and presenting an intermediate hook and upper head, a spring formed into two sets of coils with an intervening space and cross-bar which provide for connecting the spring to the member, said spring having forwardly-projecting members with upturned ends, and an open frame having hooks to engage the members and a cross-bar with a groove in its upper edge receiving a roller, the parts being constructed and organized, substantially as shown and for the purpose set forth.

5. In a thill-coupling of the character flescribed, the combination with the spring-support, of a frame formed with a head having downwardly-projecting hooks to engagethev free ends of the arms, o f the spring-support, said frame having a side piece terminating in a cross-bar with an upwardly-projecting portion with vertical grooves and a roller parallel with the cross-bar with its ends mounted in said grooves, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM H. AVEY.

Witnesses:

M. G. ALBRIGHT, ARTHUR L. AvnY. 

